The Land of Wind, which is mostly desert, has few habitable areas, mainly concentrated in oases. The capital of the Land of Wind and its nobles live there, interspersed with some ordinary cities. As for the rest of the harsh environment, there are few inhabitants, and even the garrisons are basically only stationed in relatively key locations.
Hyuga Kai, along with Hattori Hanzō and the others, infiltrated a city. Based on the intelligence gathered, they arrived at a merchant's house. This was a merchant family that, due to illness, had been ordering medicinal ingredients from Sunagakure for many years. Therefore, they had a considerable stock of supplies at home.
Although the merchant would hire Sunagakure ninja when traveling—there were many bandits who lived by plundering in this desert—it was obviously impossible for him to do so at home. He was just an ordinary merchant, and hiring ninja to stay with him for long periods would undoubtedly be a great drain on his finances. Generally speaking, there was no danger in safe cities.
Therefore, for Konoha's elite Anbu squad, infiltrating was simple, and they wouldn't even encounter any threatening enemies. The Anbu were called Anbu precisely because they were ninja who operated in the shadows. Everyone in the squad secretly took the medicinal ingredients without alarming anyone. The family only discovered the theft of their medicinal ingredients a day later, and the commotion it caused was a story for another time.
Such scenes were constantly playing out in the cities of the Land of Wind. By the time people realized that someone was stealing medicinal ingredients on a large scale, the Anbu squads had already obtained what they wanted and had left. It could only be said that Sunagakure's defense capabilities for the country were indeed pushed to their limits by the war. They barely encountered any Sunagakure intelligence personnel. All available military forces were deployed to the front lines, and the remaining intelligence ninja either entered other countries to gather information or focused on important personnel within their own country.
"This is the easiest mission I've had since joining the Anbu," one Anbu member said.
"That's because Sunagakure itself doesn't have much strength left. Look now, a considerable amount of time has passed, and it still hasn't attracted Sunagakure's attention," another Anbu member said, with a hint of schadenfreude in his tone.
"Don't get cocky. The place we're going next isn't simple," Hyuga Kai said, shaking the intelligence scroll in his hand. "The next medicinal ingredients are quite rare; it seems only the Wind Temple orders them."
Hearing that the remaining medicinal ingredients to be stolen were in the Wind Temple, everyone couldn't help but feel a little solemn. The status of the Wind Temple was similar to that of the Fire Temple in the capital of the Land of Fire. These temples, which claimed to inherit the principles of the Sage of Six Paths, were objects of reverence for every country in the past, occupying land like local nobles. More importantly, the monks inside also learned ninjutsu.
Of course, the ninjutsu learned by monks would naturally differ from that of ninja, but ultimately, they all originated from the traditional mysteries of the Sage of Six Paths. If a monk wished, they could convert to the ninja path. For example, in the original story, Sarutobi Asura's close friend Chiriku was a monk, yet he was a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire. His strength was also extraordinary, but he unfortunately encountered the immortal duo Hidan and Kakuzu and was tragically killed.
The monks of the Wind Temple naturally possessed similar strength. They also had a responsibility in guarding the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. During large celebrations, especially those related to the Wind Temple, monks from the Wind Temple would guard the Daimyo, and even Sunagakure acknowledged their strength.
Furthermore, it is well known that the Land of Wind was the only country that already possessed a Tailed Beast before Hashirama collected them. The reason was that the One-Tails caused chaos within the Land of Wind at that time. A highly respected and powerful monk, along with Retsu, who was not yet the Kazekage, jointly suppressed it. The monk also performed a powerful sealing jutsu, sealing it within the temple.
Leaving aside everything else, that impressive sealing jutsu alone showed the strength of the Wind Temple monks. Although that was the case, they might not necessarily win against Konoha's Anbu. However, Hyuga Kai and the others did not want to attract attention, otherwise, they would be targeted by Sunagakure's Anbu stationed in the capital.
Of course, despite their caution, Hyuga Kai and the others were confident that they could successfully steal the medicinal ingredients. After carefully analyzing the geographical location and intelligence of the Wind Temple, everyone began to act, secretly sneaking into the capital of the Land of Wind and heading towards the Wind Temple.
The Wind Temple held a high status in the country. Although the ideology of the Sage of Six Paths was gradually reviving, no one had re-established the religion of the Sage of Six Paths. The new Sage of Six Paths ideology was more like a theory than a doctrine, so its impact on the status of these traditional ninja temples was not significant.
Moreover, in a country with a harsh environment like the Land of Wind, many people came to the Wind Temple to pray for inner peace. The Anbu noticed the crowds of people active around the Wind Temple. They determined that there was a barrier around the Wind Temple, but it was not without flaws.
Hyuga Kai's Byakugan possessed the ability to perceive chakra, and its accuracy of observation was even superior to the Sharingan. The Sharingan could at most observe the general flow of chakra, while the Hyuga clan's Byakugan could observe every single strand of chakra flow. The Gentle Fist taijutsu, which extended from this, could easily sever chakra.
Advanced Hyuga taijutsu practitioners could even, during combat with an enemy, use a method similar to the Eight Trigrams Empty Palm to remotely output chakra for pinpoint attacks, thereby stopping the flow of chakra within the opponent's body, even when there was no time to use specific moves. This technique established the Hyuga clan's reputation as the strongest taijutsu family during the Warring States period.
Hyuga Kai, a member of the Branch House, was not a genius like Hyuga Neji, who could independently comprehend the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, which were only passed down in the Main House. However, his years of experience using the Byakugan and his understanding of the Sage of Six Paths' teachings had amplified his dōjutsu to an extremely high level.
The Hyuga clan's Byakugan is not like the Sharingan, where dōjutsu can rapidly strengthen under intense emotional stimulation. The Hyuga clan's Byakugan primarily strengthens its dōjutsu through daily training, gradually honing it through the natural principles of Gentle Fist and Eight Trigrams. Advanced practitioners can even perceive the dōjutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
While this training method prevented the Hyuga clan's dōjutsu from experiencing explosive growth like the Uchiha clan's, considering the series of sacrifices involved in the Sharingan's advancement, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan training might truly be a safer and more stable method, though it required a considerable amount of time.
With Hyuga Kai's current Byakugan dōjutsu, he could discern some issues with the Wind Temple's barrier. To quietly tear open a gap and infiltrate, with the help of others, it was not too difficult.
Hyuga Kai nodded to everyone. They moved to an uninhabited area of the Wind Temple. Hyuga Kai quietly activated his Byakugan, carefully observing the chakra flow of the barrier. He stretched out his hand, took a deep breath, and quickly moved his hand across the barrier. The others also began to perform auxiliary jutsu. Although it would leave traces on the barrier, it would not alert anyone for a short time.
Everyone slipped inside. Hyuga Kai quickly gave some instructions, and the others nodded, then quickly infiltrated the Wind Temple. They needed to find the place where the medicinal ingredients were stored and steal them without alarming the Wind Temple monks. To ensure foolproof success, everyone had to be called over once the location was found.
Although the monks of the Wind Temple were not inferior to ninja in terms of strength, from an educational perspective, they were simply monks who ate vegetarian food and chanted sutras, not ninja who learned assassination and infiltration techniques. It would be extremely difficult for them to notice these battle-hardened Anbu ninja here.
Hattori Hanzō moved swiftly and stealthily, unnoticed by anyone. His body was shorter than his peers, which granted him exceptional agility. Like a black line, he perfectly blended into the shadows.
After a careful search, Hattori Hanzō soon found the place where the medicinal ingredients were stored. He lightly formed a hand sign, using a unique Anbu method to inform the others, telling them to come quickly. At the same time, he observed the people inside. Although it was a place for storing medicinal ingredients, since they were not particularly rare, there were not many guards. Even Hattori Hanzō alone could probably take them down.
However, Hattori Hanzō still obeyed orders and waited for the others to arrive. When the others arrived, Hyuga Kai used his Byakugan to confirm the chakra pathways within the guards' bodies—it was impossible to see chakra in ordinary people who had not condensed it. However, one could determine the quality of chakra a person possessed by the size and intensity of their chakra pathways, which could not be concealed no matter what.
The more chakra a ninja could condense, and the stronger its quality, the more resilient their chakra pathways needed to be to withstand its intensity. Otherwise, overly powerful chakra could easily damage the chakra pathways, and the internal organs connected to them would be harmed.
Hyuga Kai judged that the people below were not very strong. He gave a signal to everyone, and in the next moment, in just a breath, everyone appeared beside the guards as if by instantaneous movement, subduing them one by one. Before they could even make a sound, Hyuga Kai's pressure point attack had already arrived.
With a thud, the guards fell to the ground, unconscious. Hyuga Kai retracted his hand from the pressure point attack, letting out a soft breath. Without a word, he simply gestured: Act quickly, find the target, and leave here.
Everyone entered the storage area for medicinal ingredients. Following orders, they found the required ingredients and did nothing else before leaving. Just as they had done in the past, by the time the people of the Wind Temple noticed something amiss, they had already left the capital.
Once they reached a safe place, everyone could shed their taciturn demeanor and begin to discuss. Someone laughed, "I thought infiltrating would be a lot of trouble, but this is all it was, haha."
"It's just stealing medicinal ingredients. If we were going to a more important place, the defenses would increase rapidly. We shouldn't underestimate them," someone reminded.
"Speaking of which, since this was where the Tailed Beast was sealed in the past, could Sunagakure's jinchūriki be here?" someone asked curiously.
"I don't know."
"I don't seem to have seen anything like that."
"How could a jinchūriki, such an important existence, stay far away from the capital of the Land of Wind? Even considering the possibility of a Tailed Beast going berserk, they should be near Sunagakure," Hyuga Kai said with a smile.
"That's true," everyone nodded.
"Alright, we've got the goods. Our mission here is complete. It's time to go," Hyuga Kai said.
At the same time, the jinchūriki they were discussing, Bunpuku, once again encountered someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Sunagakure's Kazekage, Ebizō, once again came before him, asking him to stand for the village's interests. Bunpuku, as always, chose to shake his head, indicating his refusal.
"Your student died at the hands of Konoha, don't you have any desire for revenge?" Ebizō said somewhat angrily.
He was referring to Karura, who studied under Bunpuku. As a monk, Bunpuku also had the ability to learn ninjutsu. To help him control the One-Tails and give him sufficient power, Bunpuku displayed astonishing talent, mastering exquisite Wind Release ninjutsu. It was precisely because of this that Ebizō grew increasingly frustrated at his inability to utilize Bunpuku.
Now, Ebizō intended to use emotions to pressure Bunpuku. Karura was Bunpuku's last disciple, and for an old man who spent years in a tall tower, Karura must have been like a daughter to him. He didn't believe Bunpuku would be indifferent to this.
"Of course, I am saddened by Karura's death. However, wasn't it you, Sunagakure, who forced her onto the battlefield?" Bunpuku slowly opened his eyes, staring at the old man of similar age before him. "As an invader entering another country, even if she died, it cannot be blamed on the Konoha ninja who defended their homeland. The ones who should truly be blamed are you, who ordered her to invade another country!"
"That was for the future of our Land of Wind!" Ebizō retorted sharply.
"Is it truly not because of your pointless ambition?" Bunpuku said meaningfully, "Do the threats you imagine truly exist?"
Ebizō's brow twitched slightly. He let out a cold snort and said, "You old man must have had your brain corrupted by those Sage of Six Paths ideals of love and peace, not caring about the death of your last disciple."
Bunpuku remained silent, and Ebizō returned empty-handed this time.
When Bunpuku confirmed Ebizō's departure, he slowly said in his heart, "How could I not care about Karura's death? It's just that I'm certain she isn't dead."
Bunpuku slowly spread his hand. In his palm was a charm. He had placed it on Karura years ago to ensure her safety. If Karura had died, the charm would have disappeared. Since the charm was still there, it meant Karura was still alive.
"Konoha…" Bunpuku sighed softly, adding in his heart, "I really should thank you."